1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a ceramic water control valve, and more particularly to an innovative one which enables compact assembly and leak-proofing of components by pressing the ceramic chips.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
The ceramic water control valve is structurally designed in a way that rotating and fixed ceramic chips within the valve casing are overlapped vertically as key components for switching or closing/opening the water flow paths.
As for common the ceramic water control valve with vertical water flow paths, the streams from inlet to outlet are fully sealed into a flow channel formed by the rotating and fixed ceramic chips, so the tightness of these ceramic chips is of utmost significance. In the event of any defective tightness between them, leakage may be occur, indicating the end of service life of the ceramic water control valve. According to the structural design of such common ceramic water control valves, the tightness between the rotating and fixed ceramic chips relies much on the elastic bracing of an O-ring seal set between the fixed ceramic chip and pedestal of the valve casing. Yet, there still lacks of a stable pressing force on the sliding ceramic chip, making it hard to sustain the tightness between the rotating and fixed ceramic chips.
As for a ceramic water control valve with underneath incoming path and lateral outgoing path, there exists possible leakage on top of the valve casing in addition to unstable pressing force on said sliding ceramic chip. This is because the trough of the sliding ceramic chip is provided with a lateral opening, which could be connected to the outlet at one side of the valve casing for lateral water discharge. However, as there exists a gap between the lateral opening of the sliding ceramic chip and the valve casing, said valve casing is filled with liquid, leading to more serious leakage on top of the valve casing. Notwithstanding an O-ring seal designed on top of the valve casing, it is found that this could not withstand high temperature during operation, leading to non-durable leak-proofing state.
Thus, to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it would be an advancement if the art to provide an improved structure that can significantly improve the efficacy.
Therefore, the inventor has provided the present invention of practicability after deliberate design and evaluation based on years of experience in the production, development and design of related products.